The Truth Behind the Eclipse: The Last Shadowborn
by Chaos Githzerai
Summary: Tainted by a curse from the Renegade, a Lucario seeks protection from the Time and Space deities. But a single emotion, of which neither god nor mortal is immune, threatens to tip the balance between the two opposing sides. Chaos Githzerai vs Nefertili.


_Authors' Notes:_

_Before you start on this, we __**highly recommend**__ that you read 'A Lengthening of Shadows' before starting on this story so you will have a much clearer picture as events unfold. Though they are only one-shots, they feature events which are very major catalysts where 'The Truth Behind the Eclipse' is concerned._

_The idea for this story comes from 'Timeless' a work of mine based on the Diamond and Pearl games,, with bits of influence from the anime and the 10th and 11th movies as well as on a few pieces of artwork which my co-author has done. Like 'Timeless', this story also features a she-Lucario named Shan who also suffers from a corrupted aura and ends up meeting the Steel/Dragon Legendary, Dialga; however, Shera doesn't play a part since there are no humans in the wold in which this story and its prequel takes place. Also, unlike Timeless, this story is influenced by a few elements from Platinum, where the Distortion/Reverse World is concerned. Still, I hope that you will still enjoy this work as Nefertili and I write it. _

_-- Chaos_

_To avoid confusion, we would like to clarify that most of the characters in the story are in gijinka (humanized) forms conceptualized by me and my co-author, but they continue to retain the powers and titles they have as Pokémon. Also, Legendaries have set genders despite being mostly classified as genderless in the franchise. In the case of the Dragon Trio, Giratina and Dialga are male while Palkia is female. If you have any issues with this, then read no further. We appreciate constructive criticisms, but understand that we feel emotions too. Please employ proper web etiquette, and avoid nitpicking as much as possible, okay?_

_-- Nefertili_

_As always, Pokemon is © to that wonderful mastermind, Satoshi Tajiri while the gijinka versions are © to Nefertili (Giratina) and Chaos Githzerai (Kuro and Shan). Special thanks go out to Ayaluki, the best beta reader we could ever ask for._

_**Summary:**__ Tainted by a curse from the Renegade, a Lucario seeks protection from the Time and Space deities. But a single emotion, of which neither god nor mortal is immune, threatens to tip the balance between the two opposing sides.

* * *

_

The Truth Behind the Eclipse:

The Last Shadowborn

_Chapter I:_

_The Setting of the Eastern Sun_

Though the Reverse World was a place of beauty despite its rule-breaking appearance, within its heart loomed a dark fortress, a vast contrast to the serene-looking dimension surrounding it. A tall figure stood, gazing out of one of the structure's few windows before he turned to witness the emergence of a second figure, which promptly moved to bow before the first.

"I take it that you have made my instructions clear to the Hellhounds?"

"I have, my Lord..." The second figure, a Weavile, remained knelt before her lord, her head bowed, the dark tipped bangs of her amaranth hair sweeping against the floor, and she did not rise until the Ghost Dragon beckoned for her to do so. Even then, the Weavile kept her eyes averted from him and focused upon the floor, not only out of respect for Giratina, but out of fear of the Ghost Dragon catching the feelings for him which shone within her amber gaze.

"I'll leave it as your responsibility to make sure that they carry their orders out properly," Giratina replied, keeping his attention upon his Dark-type subordinate, ruby-red eyes narrowing with his next sentence: "Should they fail, kill them."

'_Houndooms... Bah!_' The Weavile was careful to keep her face void of all expression despite the anger seething within her. '_Such sorry excuses for Dark-types couldn't even burn their way out of a room made of paper walls, let alone carry out such complex orders!_'

"It shall be done," she said, keeping her tone of voice neutral. She gave her master a salute of respect before she turned and melted in to the dark shadows of the room.

* * *

'_Sifu told me that this would be good for me, but I don't know if it will help me with my problems..._' the young woman thought, wine-red eyes gazing out at the mountains from where she stood at the edge of the small village she called home. '_But my problem is what one would _hardly_ call normal. It afflicted my grandfather when he still lived _and_ it afflicts Father even now..._'

She was a Lucario, shown by the black headband and the low-cut, sleeveless golden-yellow top she wore. Said top had black trimming around it, including the three buttons on the front, and a black sash-like belt was tied around her waist, the trailing ends dangling freely at her left hip. Instead of the normal blue, however, the loose-fitting pants she wore began as a pale shade of gray at the top before gradually darkening to where they became as black as her headband and belt. Completing her manner of dress were a pair of white ankle-length socks, a pair of black slip-on shoes, and a pair of black wristbands, which were adorned upon the outer side by a single large stud. Her blue-black hair was quite long, falling to around her hips, and she usually kept it tied in a single plaited braid, though a few wisps of much shorter bangs fell around her face.

She raised a hand to shield her eyes from the rays of the early morning sun, which was still rising above the peaks of the mountains which framed the edges of the valley that her clan had called home for the last six decades. Though the morning seemed peaceful, the Fighting-type felt a sense of unease like a shadow looming at the edge of her vision. The young woman brushed her bangs out of her face before she adjusted the small bag she had slung over her shoulder, which contained a day's change of clothes and her mother's formal robe, which was supposed to be a good luck charm. The Lucario turned to look back over her shoulder, her gaze traveling over the village she would be leaving for a full day, before she began to take the path which led out of her village.

"Shan! Shan, wait! Wait!"

The young woman stopped when the cries reached her ears, the second 'Wait!' having been drawn out. Said cries were accompanied by light, rapid footsteps - the sound of someone running - and Shan turned just as a small Riolu boy slid to a stop before her, his messy jet-black hair falling around his face as he took a moment to catch his breath.

"Liu, you shouldn't be this close to the edge of the village."

"I know, but I wanted to give you this before you left," he said, holding something out to her. It wasn't until Liu had opened his hands that the older Lucario could see what he was offering: a red ribbon, a gift of friendship among their people. She smiled, moving to kneel in order to allow the child to tie the ribbon around the bicep of her right arm before she moved to gently grasp his shoulders.

"Thank you, Liu, I'll treasure this."

"I'm going to miss you…"

"I'm only going to be gone for a day, but I'll be back tomorrow morning," she replied, unable to help the quiet chuckle that chose to leave her before she raised a hand to smooth Liu's messy hair back into place.

"I know, but you're the only one who ever plays with us without complaining," Liu began, only to be cut off by a yawn which caused him to bring a little hand up to cover his mouth before he muttered an apology and continued: "I always lose whenever you don't play with us, Hide and Seek especially because the others _always_ make me 'it' because I can never find them, but you always let me find you whenever you play that stupid game with us. I don't feel so much like a loser when you play with us, Shan..."

The child had a habit of complaining about the other three Riolus in the village, but Shan never minded listening because she knew that Liu's aura was slower in developing than the others, and Hide and Seek was one of the more vital games Riolu children played at such a young age in order to promote the development of their abilities, and because of Liu's problems, the boy was often left frustrated and upset from never being able to successfully find the others. Though Shan could sense the presence of others easily enough, her taint gave her trouble with two of her species' attacks: Force Palm and Aura Sphere, the first of which she had given up on learning entirely, but she was still as adamant as ever about learning the second no matter how much trouble it continued to give her. Because of this, even though she and Liu had different problems regarding aura, the two had become close friends.

"I'll play with you as much as you want tomorrow when I am back, I promise. Now, you'd best return home before your mother comes looking for you. I don't want her learning that you came this close to the edge of the village."

"Okay..." The boy moved to throw his arms around the Lucario's neck in a tight hug before, with a sigh of defeat, he let go, turned and slowly began making his way back to the safety of the village's interior. Shan stayed to keep an eye on the Riolu until he was back near his family's hut before the woman rose to her feet, pausing long enough to brush dirt and bits of grass from her pants before she once again started down the path which led away from her home.

* * *

"I don't see why you have to bother us with a repeat of your master's damn orders, Weavile..." the lead Houndoom snapped, baring his teeth at her as his reddish-brown eyes narrowed dangerously. "We'll be ready to go come sundown, so don't get your gi in a twist, alright?"

'_Hrmph! Fire-belcher..._' "I highly doubt you'll be able to pull off the surprise attack you've been bragging about, Houndoom, even if the Lucarios are at a disadvantage at night," the red-haired woman replied, slowly flipping a shuriken through her fingers in a rather bored manner. "But my master wanted me to emphasize his orders to you one last time, so you won't mess this up: drive them out, but make sure that the leader and his family are _alive_. Follow these orders correctly, and the valley shall be part of your own territory come sunrise tomorrow."

The Dark/Fire dual type remained silent as he listened, but Kuro didn't miss the beginnings of a smirk that pulled at the corners of the middle-aged man's mouth. He was up to something, and, one way or another, the woman would find out what.

"Oh, don't worry, we'll be sure to take _extra care_ of Dorai, his lovely wife, _and_ his little brat. Won't we, boys?"

Low murmurs and a few chuckles were exchanged between the other nine Houndooms present, and the rogue ninja had to force down the shudder of revulsion dying to slither down her spine.

"I'll leave you to your devices," she lied, keeping her tone neutral. "But I warn you: my master expects you to follow his orders _exactly as they are given_. Mess up even _one_ part and the deal is off."

* * *

_Shadowborn. A brand, widening the rift of the North and West from the East. A curse, brought upon your blood by the wrath of the Renegade One... That which extends from your father and his father before him.

* * *

_

Shan paused to catch her breath. Dry leaves, orange-red like tongues of fire and no doubt from the dying bough of a tree, were driven about her by the mountain breeze as she walked. The air was becoming thin, so high had she climbed up the mountain which was her clan's favored place of training, but it was worth it. She was above civilization now, and free from its distractions… as if she didn't have enough internal distractions already. Throughout her journey, she couldn't help repeating her sifu's words in her mind. Although she knew the story by heart ever since she first heard it_ years _ago, Shan found herself looking back to it whenever she recalled her... problem.

* * *

_Ren, as your grandfather's name was, once enjoyed freedom from the Taint. Life seemed kind to him, he who was an advisor so trusted by the clan leader when the three branches were but one bough. But the Shadow fell upon your fate when his brother, dear to his heart, was on the brink of death._

_A soul so young, barely passing through five years of life, about to be subjected to a cruel death from illness incurable… It was too much for his older brother to bear. Ren sent many a prayer to Ho-Oh, hoping that the God of Life will take pity and snatch young Fai from a swift down-spiral of existence… but his prayers proved to be in vain. Ren, sunk in despair so deep, turned to the one deity who governed the mechanism of Death… the enigmatic Giratina.

* * *

_

The ever-present mist of the mountain shimmered slightly as the young woman began her exercise. She breathed in the earthy scent of pine, moss, and rock as she focused her chi within herself. After a few minutes of letting the energy flow through her limbs, Shan proceeded to a nearby rock face, briefly running her hand over its surface to test its sturdiness. After she decided that it would be enough, she began to strengthen her fists by punching the muted surface of the solid wall. It did not cause her much pain as she was a dual Fighting/Steel type, but Shan knew that although her skills had refined under the guidance of her sifu, she still could not forgo practicing the basics.

'_My grandfather must have loved Fai so much to have wanted to save him so badly,' _Shan thought to herself, still thinking about her clan's -- and her taint's – history. _'But then again, it's not as if I couldn't understand him...' _

She continued the routine for a long time, and the rhythm of her exercise echoed softly in the silent mountain air. Finally, the young woman caught sight of small cracks beginning to appear on the part of the rock wall that she practiced her fists on, and she decided that it was enough. Pausing to gather her breath, she planted her hands on the ground and pushed herself upwards until she stood on her head. It was a trick she had perfected after many attempts. Before, she had to rely on her teacher to hold her feet aloft while she balanced herself, but now she could sustain the challenging procedure for minutes at a time, without support.

'_If anyone I loved was in such danger as Fai, I guess I would have dared to go as far as what grandfather did. But _why _did Ho-Oh not heed grandfather's prayers in the first place?'

* * *

_

_But bargaining with Death to extend Life was never meant to succeed. The Dragon of Shadows, his humour as dark as the Destruction that he represented, took Fai's spirit and turned it into a Ghost. While he did extend the young one's existence to an incredible reach, it was a miserable existence… A half-life, neither dead nor alive, and doomed never to rest whilst his soul remained in the clutches of the God of Death.

* * *

_

It took Shan some time to gather the appropriate kind and number of rocks for the next phase of her training, but she soon found herself with a decent pile of flat, brick-like stones at her feet. After moving to arrange them in orderly stacks, Shan took several steps backwards. Breathing deeply, she darted forward and brought a well-placed kick downwards on the first stack of rocks, neatly breaking them into smaller pieces. Twirling on her feet, she progressed to execute the same kick on the several other piles of stones, each of them cracking in the force of the Lucario's attack.

Shan briefly brushed the dust from her feet and face before she turned her gaze on the remaining stone stacks. Readying her hands, she let out a battle cry as she attacked and split the unyielding stone with her bare hands. After a few more moves, all the stones were reduced to broken rubble.

As the young woman worked to clear her area of the broken pieces, she thought about the infamous Dragon of Shadows and his role in her clan's demise. Like many, she had never seen, let alone encountered, Giratina. Almost anyone she met carried rich descriptions of the deadly deity, but Shan deduced most of them were gleaned from rumors only. However, several details were present in all accounts she had heard: that the Dragon of Shadows was said to be nearly as powerful as the dimensional deities Dialga and Palkia (who were partial Dragon-types themselves), and that he was considered to be as handsome as he was treacherous. But whether he was good-looking or not, Shan disliked Giratina just the same... after what he did to her grandfather's brother.

'_Even Darkrai is respected by those outside the Dark-types, unlike _him_,' _Shan thought to herself. _'I should consider myself lucky that I haven't had a scuffle with Giratina yet. Not that I would want to experience one, that is... especially considering my family's antagonism with him.'

* * *

_

_The tragic turn of fortune bore down upon Ren. As a simple Lucario, he could not break the cycle of life and death from the land, but he swore an oath to put forth what he could to at least restrict the God of Destruction from manifesting in Shenu. The Renegade was a deity, immune to any means of annihilation a mortal could call upon, and exile from the land was the only solution._

_Calling together the greatest sages of the land, Ren pooled their most potent magic into a single talisman carrying a Seal of great power. And thus, while death was still the ultimate fate of mortals, the deity who represented it was forced within the confines of his own realm… the Reverse, the antithesis to the world created by the Beat of Time and the Dance of Space.

* * *

_

After a quick break, Shan began to execute some simple kicks and arm movements in the signature style of the Lucario clan, her gestures becoming more animated with every step.

'_I have grown to live with the taint,' _Shan thought as she leaped up the air in battle stance. _'Apart from the fact that it's preventing me from making use of my aura to its full extent, it has pretty much been lying dormant in me all these years...'_

She touched down near the lip of the cliff. Unconsciously, her hand made its way to a small pouch which she always kept securely in her belt. She knew clearly what it contained. It was an ornate pendant made of a red girasol opal backed by an elaborate network of gold wires. Shan almost never took it out of its carrying pouch ever since her father had entrusted it to her when she turned of age. The thing repulsed her, but she had to keep it close by. After all, it was the talisman that carried the seal which barred Giratina from freely crossing over to the real world… The heirloom that, like the Shadowborn trait, had been passed to Shan's family from her grandfather.

* * *

_The Renegade, alone and banished with his rage unchecked, left an indelible curse upon your grandfather as a mark of vengeance. Shadow Claw, the curse of the Shadowborn… a tainted aura, a death-touch that manifests when the soul is distressed… From then on, Ren and his descendants were shackled to carry it whilst they lived.

* * *

_

Shan struggled to keep her nervousness at bay. She was about to enter the most difficult part of her training, and unlike the previous ones she had done, she was _far _from perfecting this one...

Ignoring the butterflies that fluttered violently in her stomach, Shan closed her eyes and concentrated to focus her aura between her hands which she held over her chest. Sparks of red instead of the usual healthy blue flew from her palm before they sputtered and faded. Gritting her teeth, she tried again. This time, the reddish glow came forth a little better. Harnessing the energy in between her hands, she pulled the aura to a long, narrow shape, which solidified to form a battle staff. Grasping the staff tightly, she executed several combinations in tandem with kicks and twirls. She breathed a little easier. So far so good.

A few more twirls with the battle staff, and Shan laid it down on the ground to prepare herself for the next step. It was a fact that one should be able to use Aura Sphere in combat to be rightfully called a Lucario, but thanks to her taint, Shan still had trouble just _calling _it up...

'_Come on...' _she urged herself. Although she was getting a headache trying to concentrate her aura to a swirling ball between her hands, the energy stubbornly refused to follow the shape she was forcing it into. Finally, she let out a soft cry as the aura exploded in a smoky mass of red, causing her to be thrown backwards slightly.

"It's always like this_ every_ time..." Shan said to herself in a tone of defeat. "I have managed to do it already once before; _why _can't I...?"

Silencing herself, she resumed her stance and attempted Aura Sphere several times more until, after being greeted with the same failed results, she had to stop. It was sapping her strength, and she had to sit down lest the dizziness cause her to fall down and knock herself out.

'_Father said that Shadow Claw is the absolute marker of a Shadowborn. He said that it is a parasitic attack, one that colors the aura into blood and manifests in other moves when the user is in a severe emotional or mental state. And when it does...'_

Shan flinched as she recalled the first time she accidentally made Shadow Claw manifest. It was when she was still a Riolu, and she had gotten lost in the nearby forests when she was exploring. She unwittingly went into the cave of an Ursaring, which promptly got enraged at her for invading its home. Shan tried to run away from the creature, but it had overtaken her. She remembered how scared she was when the shadow of the beast fell over her, and, unable to control herself, her hidden energy burst from her in a blaze of red. The tainted aura had enveloped the Ursaring, and before Shan could grasp what was happening, it had fallen to her feet, its eyes blank and glassy. It was dead.

'_It does not merely inflict damage. It inflicts _death.'

* * *

_The Shadows did not fall upon your grandfather alone. Ren, unwilling to further taint the name of the Lucario clan, chose to break off from the main faction with a few loyal followers and went to the East... and thus the Eastern Clan was born. But shortly after his leaving, another major family of the Lucario clan, the ones who were more attuned to night than the others, also took their leave... giving forth a reason that they could no longer see hope in the North now that the Renegade's wrath was upon them. They went to the West, and thus the Western Clan was born. With the Lucario clan's split, our might was greatly diminished, and long Shadows had since taken hold upon us who were once so respected in Shenu._

_But permanence was not a trait of the Seal. Should the blood of a Shadowborn be allowed to touch the girasol set upon its golden frame, the spell is broken, and with his liberation Giratina will inevitably seek retribution upon the children of the Shadowborn. So long as the Seal was kept safe, the Renegade One will not obtain his revenge. So long as the Seal was kept safe…

* * *

_

The attack of the Houndooms came when the land was immersed deeply into the night. It was a moonless night, and to the leader, the conditions couldn't have been more perfect. And wasn't the Eastern Lucario clan the least inclined to fight of all the Aura users despite their typing, apart from being composed of only about twenty individuals? Besides, Houndooms had Fire and the element of surprise on their side. The village was an easy target, indeed. The Hellhounds would overtake them in their sleep, which was precisely what they did.

Wood and thatch homes were consumed by their flames, and the handful of hapless inhabitants who were able to make it out of the burning conflagration in time met their end in the hands of the assassins. They spared no one, not even the females and the young. The death-shrieks were music to the ears of the Houndoom leader, and he was about to step over the singed remains of a female body when a flying Aura Sphere, its color as red as blood, caused him to let out an angry roar of pain. He sharply turned around, and came face to face with a full-grown male Lucario, still fighting amidst the deadly burns on his body. In spite of the pain brought about by the Aura Sphere, the Houndoom smirked.

"Long time no see, Dorai," he said, his voice an embodiment of malice.

"This is about our dispute over this valley, isn't it?" Dorai, leader of the Lucarios, replied in a soft but intense tone whilst staring unflinchingly at his enemy with piercing eyes. "If you so badly wanted to destroy me, I would still understand. But you didn't have to kill _my people._ Why did you choose to involve them in this... this _butchery?"_

The Houndoom leader let out a derisive laugh which sounded close to a dog's howl. His subordinates, realizing that there was still a single Lucario standing, moved to surround their leader and the focus of their hatred. Dorai knew that they would not spare him even if he pleaded for his life.

"I hate to disappoint you, Dorai," the Houndoom leader said with a sneer, "but we're merely carrying out someone's orders. Drive the damn Lucarios out, and we'd have this valley as a reward."

"Someone told you to drive _us_ out?" Dorai answered back indignantly, noting that the circle of Houndooms was moving closer and closer around him. "And just who is _that_ person?"

"Oh, you mean you do not know yet? You have an enemy among the gods, Dorai. He was _kind_ enough to tell us to spare _you _and your filthy family to be his prisoners, but we are not passing up this chance to destroy you by our _own _hands."

Dorai did not hear the Houndooms as they let out a mocking laugh in unison. At once, he realized that the one behind the attack was no other than... no other than the nemesis of the Shadowborn, Giratina. Dorai did not make a move to fight back as the Houndooms simultaneously consumed him with powerful Flamethrower attacks. He would have the last laugh. Burned ashes of a Shadowborn are of no use to the Renegade, and burned ashes are all that Giratina could have of him, Dorai. The Lord of the Reverse World ought to have chosen his errand-goers more wisely.

Before succumbing to eternal sleep, Dorai sent a small prayer of thanks to Ho-Oh for delaying his daughter's arrival from her mountain training. At least she was... spared.

'_Shan, my daughter, I leave it all to you...'

* * *

_

Shan was aghast when she realized that she had slept too long. It was so dark she could see the twinkling of the Heavenly River through the thin clouds of the mountain. Thankfully she had managed to gather some emergency firewood before she decided to take a quick afternoon nap. Feeling for one of the dry boughs, Shan lit a small flame to guide her way down the mountain. After she did a quick check of her belongings and found them all accounted for, Shan half-jogged, half-ran her way down the mountain path back home. Her mother was probably sick with worry for her now, and her father will probably give her the reprimand of a lifetime for arriving so late...

The young woman was forced to slow down when she reached a point in the path that directly snaked its way on steep inclines. A misstep would be mean a fall into the black depths...

"Wait, is that_... fire?" _Shan gasped when she caught sight of a reddish glow and a towering smoke cloud rising from the landscape below. If her bearings had not failed her, it was near her village, if not quite _at _it.

Putting her safety at the back of her mind, Shan ran her fastest, praying that she wouldn't make a wrong step that would send her crashing down the abyss. Her flame came close to dying several times because of her speed, but she did not care. She had to get back to her village... to her family and friends... _fast._

The forest and mountain seemed to extend to infinity as Shan wove her way through the path obscured by darkness. Luckily, she didn't encounter any serious mishaps along the way. Finally, her destination was near...

'_Please... _please... _great Ho-Oh, please keep them... keep them... _safe_...'_

Shan paused to gather her breath. Her side had cramped because of her worry more than because of her exertions, and she could hardly hold her torso upright as she hobbled her way back to the village. It _was _fire; she smelled the burning material and felt the heat even before she saw the flames. She wondered greatly what could have started it.

'_But surely, _someone _ought to have sur--'_

Her thoughts turned white and blank as she saw the current state of her village. Not one building was left untouched by fire, and the scale of devastation convinced Shan that this was in no way accidental. _Someone _had deliberately set fire to her village...

"_Father!_ Father! _Mother!_ _Liu!_? Where are you? Please answer me!"

Shan coughed as the ashes scratched her throat. The heat was close to unbearable for her, which was quite expected because of her Steel-typing.

"Father! Mother! Liu…"

The young woman's voice was silenced as sobs replaced it. Walking among the still-burning rubble, the only sounds she heard were of destruction. Flames cracking as they licked the remaining structures left standing... wood falling as they finally succumbed to the flames… Not a single living voice was to be heard.

Shan felt her fingers digging deeply into her fists when she saw the singed entities on the ground that looked like wicked caricatures of the human form. She knew that she was looking at what remained of the people she had known all her life. Remaining in the middle of the flaming destruction, Shan let her tears fall numbly down her face. Didn't she feel some sort of foreboding just before she left the village earlier that day? Why... _why _did she do _nothing_ to prevent all of this?

_Why _did she have to remain _alive _while they now lie there, _dead...?_

'_Father... Mother... Liu...'_

And slowly, her grief began to transform into something darker... more _consuming..._

'_Whoever had done _this... _will answer to me.'_

A strange sound that was completely different from the sounds of infernal ruin around her drove Shan from her thoughts. Narrowing her eyes, she slowly turned to look behind her. Unconsciously, she assumed a fighting stance, for she now realized that _whatever _it was that brought down this destruction upon her village... its trail of devastation was not over.

_Far from over._


End file.
